Renault-Nissan Adds EV Charging for COP21 Summit

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is installing 90 new charge spots for electric vehicles in and around Paris for the COP21 global summit on climate change.

The EV charging stations will use renewable and extremely low-carbon electricity from French energy provider EDF, enabling the fleet to cover more than 400,000 km in two weeks. The quick charging stations will recharge EVs up to an 80% capacity in about 30 minutes.

The charging stations, several of which will be donated by Schneider Electric, will refuel 200 EVs serving as VIP shuttles for negotiators, delegates, and media attending the conference. More than 20,000 U.N. participants from 195 countries are expected to attend the 21st annual Conference of Parties (known as COP21), from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

The COP21 charging stations in the Paris region will use electricity. The French power grid distributes electricity with a very low average of carbon-dioxide emissions per kilowatt hour: less than 40 grams in 2014, compared to the European average of 325 grams of carbon-dioxide emissions per kilowatt hour. Renewable energy accounted for about 19% of France’s electricity last year.

In addition, EDF is offsetting the remaining carbon-dioxide emissions through carbon credits generated by projects certified by the United Nations. That means the Renault-Nissan EV fleet will use electricity considered fully “decarbonized.”

Fourteen of the 27 quick chargers installed will remain after the climate change conference and will be available for the public to use. These include two at Charles de Gaulle Airport, two on the Paris périphérique highway and one at Orly Airport.

The installation is being done in partnership with EDF, Schneider Electric, Aéroports de Paris, Paris City Council and SNCF, France’s national railway company.

France already has about 10,000 quick and standard charging spots. In the Paris region alone, there are more than 4,000 spots, making Paris one of the most “plugged in” cities in Europe.